Mondays on the Margins: The A to Z of Children's Health - A parent's guide from birth to 10 years
I was given this book to review by Robert Rose Publishing. I have to say, I really wish they'd come out with it ten years ago, because it would have been really nice to have around. This is the most comprehensive, up-to-date book of its type that I've seen - it kind of kicks What to Expect the Toddler Years' ass.
It's a fairly massive tome - about 450 pages, but well organized and indexed, and also featuring an alphabetical page-edging tab, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. It features everything from common childhood ailments (colds, flu, hand foot and mouth disease) to common childhood injuries (slivers, cuts, bruises, bee and wasp stings) and more serious and less common conditions and disorders (autism spectrum disorder, Epstein-Barr virus, obstructive sleep apnea). It also addresses anxiety disorders, bullying and cyber-bullying and school phobias and avoidance; this is clearly not your parents' guide to children' health.
There are charts featuring symptoms, treatments and red flags. There are pictures, which are really helpful (if not terribly attractive) when dealing with rashes and stool. There are case studies. There are useful and interesting "Did You Know" blue boxes: "Did you know you can use your child's palm to assess the size of the burn: the inside of your child's palm equals 1% of his body surface area". Did you know that? I totally didn't know that.
This book is extensive, frank, largely reassuring and constructive. I will be giving it to one of my friends with babies, and expecting the companion volume for the teenage years to surface just as my kids hit their twenties. *Rueful sigh*.
It's a fairly massive tome - about 450 pages, but well organized and indexed, and also featuring an alphabetical page-edging tab, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. It features everything from common childhood ailments (colds, flu, hand foot and mouth disease) to common childhood injuries (slivers, cuts, bruises, bee and wasp stings) and more serious and less common conditions and disorders (autism spectrum disorder, Epstein-Barr virus, obstructive sleep apnea). It also addresses anxiety disorders, bullying and cyber-bullying and school phobias and avoidance; this is clearly not your parents' guide to children' health.
There are charts featuring symptoms, treatments and red flags. There are pictures, which are really helpful (if not terribly attractive) when dealing with rashes and stool. There are case studies. There are useful and interesting "Did You Know" blue boxes: "Did you know you can use your child's palm to assess the size of the burn: the inside of your child's palm equals 1% of his body surface area". Did you know that? I totally didn't know that.
This book is extensive, frank, largely reassuring and constructive. I will be giving it to one of my friends with babies, and expecting the companion volume for the teenage years to surface just as my kids hit their twenties. *Rueful sigh*.
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